GOP Takes Control Of House Of Representatives With Slim Majority; Kevin McCarthy Poised To Be New Speaker

Republicans were projected to gain control of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, returning them to the majority after four years by an ever-so-slim margin.

MSNBC and CNN called the race first this afternoon, with the Associated Press and Fox News following soon after. With about nine races still not called in this year’s midterm election, CNN gave the GOP 218 seats, a bare majority, with 208 seats being held by the Democrats.

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Once the new Congress is sworn in in January, the first major test for House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy will be to win the speakership. He was nominated by the party caucus on Tuesday by an overwhelming margin, but 31 of his own members still voted against him and in favor of a rival, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ).

“We have our work cut out for us,” McCarthy told reporters. “We [are going to have] a small majority. We got to listen to everybody in our conference. … Either we will lead as a team or we will lose as individuals, but I think at the end of the day we will lead as a team.”

If McCarthy becomes Speaker, he will be second in line to the Oval Office after Vice President Kamala Harris.

The GOP majority, likely fewer than a half-dozen votes when all is said and counted up, might be so slim as to perhaps put the party control in play if unexpected vacancies force special elections for some seats, as is typically the case in a 435-seat chamber.

California Congressman McCarthy also will have to unite different factions in his caucus, which include a chorus of loud MAGA voices inspired by Donald Trump, who announced his latest bid for the White House just Tuesday. The tiny GOP victory also has raised pundit speculation as to who will replace current Speaker Nancy Pelosi as the Dems’ leader in the lower chamber, or if she will remain. She has not yet announced her plans.

In a statement, Pelosi said, “This year, House Democrats defied expectations with an excellent performance: running their races with courage, optimism and determination.  In the next Congress, House Democrats will continue to play a leading role in supporting President Biden’s agenda — with strong leverage over a scant Republican majority.”

As it is, having barely made it over the touchdown line, McCarthy faces not only Trump sniping from the side but also Democrat Joe Biden in the White House and the Democrats holding control of the Senate.

The White House put out a statement today on the new Republican majority, with President Biden saying “the American people want us to get things done for them.” As he has in the past, Biden also promised to work with anyone — “Republican, Democrat” — who shared his aim.

Nevertheless, Republicans are likely to use their majority to launch a series of investigations of Biden and his administration. The White House is expecting as much, perhaps starting with probes of how the administration has handled the crisis at the southern border. A number of Republicans had talked of launching impeachment proceedings against Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of Homeland Security, even if they never were likely to have had the requisite number of votes in the Senate to remove him. McCarthy also had tried to tamp down talk of impeaching Biden, a prospect that could backfire and, given the tight hold that the GOP has over the House, perhaps be even more of a gamble.

Of course, while Biden clearly would have preferred the Democrats to hold the House as well as the Senate, he now does have a new foil to toss blame on going into the 2024 election.

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